Tuesday, August 29, 2023

“Imaginative and original zombie apocalypse novel.” – Viral Dawn: (Viral Series Book 1) by Jade Lazlow

 


What if your world changed in a split second, destroying everything you thought you knew and thrusting you into a world where your very survival depends on every move you make, every decision, and every step you take? Every. Move. Matters.
An explosion at the army depot unleashes a deadly cloud carrying a genetically engineered virus that turns people into flesh-eating zombies. High school senior, Casey Williams has taken refuge at the school with friends and others who managed to survive the blast and ensuing viral outbreak. They’re safe. For now. But supplies are running short, and tempers are running shorter as Casey realizes the time is coming they will need to get out. She is determined to lead her friends to safety only to discover that she’s led them into even greater danger. Determined to save her friends, she fights the living and the undead in her quest to survive.

kwadzana

Imaginative and original zombie apocalypse novel

Viral Dawn is a zombie apocalypse story that is much more than a comic book or short story expanded into a TV series that gradually becomes repetitive and redundant. First, there is the character development so readers get to know the characters before the real action starts. I love the way the author narrates what the main character is thinking so you really get to know her as the story progresses.

Viral Dawn is a story about how an average person can rise to the occasion and become a hero. In this case, the main character Casey only wants to take care of her mildly disabled foster brother Derek. But Casey is separated from Derek and reluctantly becomes the leader of a group of friends and strangers trying to survive the zombie outbreak.

Unlike other zombie apocalypse stories, Viral Dawn explains what caused the dead to begin walking and feeding on living humans. I don’t want to compare it to The Walking Dead but I do want to say that if Skyler Rankin was a writer on The Walking Dead TV series, I would still be watching it. The same old problem with shows like The Walking Dead or Lost always seems to appear after a season or two. Writers start to burn out and become unimaginative and repetitive. They always seem to fall back on writing in different groups of survivalists fighting each other and lose the imaginative science fiction aspects of the story. Not so with Viral Dawn.

Author Skyler Rankin has written an interesting, exciting story that takes readers in a different direction than you might expect. There is no predictability here. There are surprises around every corner. Viral Dawn is a true science fiction novel. Best of all, it doesn’t end in a cliffhanger. Although it is part of a series, it is a self-contained novel with an ending that has closure. I was not left hanging but I liked the book enough that I plan to read the sequel as soon as possible. A solid 5 stars for Viral Dawn by Skyler Rankin.

Jade viral dawn

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
!ndigo
Rakuten-Kobo
Scribd
Smashwords


No comments:

Post a Comment